Page 52 of A Kiss From Death (Oath of Vengeance #1)

Grunting to himself, he responds, “Good thing I’m not giving you a choice then.”

I turn, ignoring him, and continue my pursuit down the hallway towards the Bubble.

Hade keeps in stride with me, both of us silent but sending death threats with our eyes every few moments.

I can feel the pent up emotions of the past few days vibrating inside me, needing to be released.

Seeing how tense Hade is beside me, I think he is in need of the same reprieve.

We enter the Bubble side by side, drawing all the eyes of my competitors.

I ignore them all, striding to the far end where it’s empty and spacious.

I stretch out my stiff limbs that haven’t been used in days and groan at how tight they are, which draws Hade’s wide eyes my way.

I flip him my middle finger as I dip into a front stretch, folding my body in half until it feels like my hamstrings are going to snap.

Feeling much looser, I step into the small ring drawn into the sand, where Hade is patiently waiting for me. He drags his eyes lazily from my toes all the way up to my face, checking me over one more time before he deems me fit to fight.

“Give me hell,” he says with a smirk, and before he can even finish his sentence, I lunge at him, trying to take him by surprise.

He’s much bigger than me, so I have to rely on my speed and smart moves. I’m too worked up to dance around with him aimlessly until one of us makes a move. I came here to draw blood, and I don’t mind shedding some of my own in the process.

Spinning, I kick my foot out, aiming for his side, but before my eyes can even register the movement, he catches me by my ankle and yanks me forward so I tumble awkwardly into his chest. He moves at an unnatural speed for me to even keep up with as he pins me to him, looking down with piercing eyes.

“You need to work on making calculated moves with a plan instead of rushing into combat. Never underestimate your opponent, and always look for their weaknesses so you can exploit them,” he states while looking back and forth between my eyes.

My body heats at every place our bodies meet, but I push those thoughts aside as I shove him away and plant my feet in a fighting stance once again. This time, I assess my opponent instead of making moves fueled by rage.

We circle each other slowly as I look over his huge frame for weaknesses. Of course, there’s none to be found, since he is quite literally perfect at everything he does. He wouldn’t be called the Cardinal or tasked to protect the Empress if he was anything short of perfection.

I can tell he is exhausted mentally and physically, even with his muscular body and godly speed moving a fraction slower than normal.

If I can tire him out and play with his mind a bit, it may give me a slight advantage, since I’m well rested.

His lighter eye that glows like a lightning bolt lags slightly behind his dark one, making his left side an easier target.

We continue to circle each other, both waiting on the other to make the first move. I never knew death could be so beautiful.

“You’ve been avoiding me,” I say calmly, knowing he can’t run away from my question for once.

“Hardly,” he responds, never missing a beat or moving his eyes from mine.

Slowly inching my way closer to him, I continue to berate him with questions, attempting to distract him but also falling into my own selfish urges of needing to know why he’s been so distant. “What, are you afraid you might break me?” I question, raising a brow at him.

He grunts, looking slightly pained, but he remains composed when he responds, “Quite the opposite, actually.”

“Are you fragile , Hade?” I purr, dragging the words out.

He looks back and forth between my eyes, thinking of a response, and I take the opportunity to pounce.

I aim for his left side, where his reaction is a fraction slower, and jab out my elbow, but he side-steps me at the last minute.

I was planning on that, though, and I instantly spin from behind him, kicking my leg out to knock him off balance.

My foot catches the back of his knees and, to my surprise, he doesn’t block it, but it also barely makes a dent in his steely composure, like he’s physically rooted to the ground.

I wince, and Hade turns to face me again with a smirk. “Do you think I’m fragile? If anything, I might break you without even trying,” he says in a low, raspy voice.

We start to circle each other again as I feel a small blush creep up my chest. “I have yet to break, and I doubt you of all people will be the cause of my ruining.” I try to sound sure of myself, but I’m starting to crumble right in front of him, and the little prick knows it .

“Oh, Nightmare , after I’m through with you, you would be reduced to nothing.

” I bite my lip at his vivid words. “The havoc I would wreak on your body would level entire cities.” He stops circling me to take a step forward.

“You would never stand a chance at surviving me, Nyxi. Body and soul included.” His eyes turn molten, darkening before me, zoning in on his prey.

Fuck me.

A chill runs up my spine, making the hairs on the back of my neck spring up, lighting my body on fire. I’m overheating, my body and mind warring. My brain tells me this man is a danger zone, but my body wants to dive head first into that black abyss, hoping I catch fire in the process.

I go to respond but choke on my words, worked up from his admission. He chuckles under his breath and flashes me a feral grin, which makes my blood boil. He may be my demise, but that doesn’t mean I won’t drag him with me to the pits of hell so we may burn in ruin together.

“All talk,” I taunt as I round his body again, slowly watching his every move. “That’s a pretty big declaration to live up to, sir . I only feel pity for the poor girl who will have her head filled with pretty promises, only to undoubtedly be disappointed in the end.”

A tickle of dark magic runs up my body until it settles on the edge of my ear like a snake slithering across my skin. “I don’t break my promises, Nyxi . Would you like to find out firsthand?” he whisper growls into my ear through his shadow, setting my body ablaze.

I am well and truly fucked . I slap his magic away with the back of my hand and lunge at him, yelling as I throw my body at him. I punch out with my right arm, aiming for the side of his face, but he catches my fist midair and throws my arm to the side as he yawns.

“You can do better than that,” he taunts as I strike out my left elbow, aiming for his side.

He deflects it easily without even looking down, and I let out a growl of frustration at the smirk on his face.

“You’re out of practice. Pity.” He finds this amusing, but it only stokes the fire of rage building inside me.

It’s not lost on me that he’s only playing defense, never taking any opportunities to lash out at me when I’m distracted by my rage.

He’s letting me take my anger out on him, but he won’t hit me back, and it’s only making me more pissed off.

He’s treating me like I’m fragile instead of something worth his time, someone beneath him instead of his equal.

“Why aren’t you fighting me?” I demand in a snarl.

Shrugging, he responds, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

I huff, frustrated. “You weren’t scared of hitting a girl when you punched me in the nose the first time we met,” I taunt, trying to get under his skin, attempting to push him to lash out at me and play this game.

“That was an accident,” he replies softly as we start to circle each other again.

“One you still haven’t apologized for,” I seethe in response. Apparently, I’m still not over it.

“Nevertheless, I wouldn’t want to ruin your pretty face again.” He smirks, looking like the devil incarnate.

“That’s rather unfortunate, because I would love nothing more than to turn your face black and blue for the rest of eternity. At least then, it would match your soul,” I sneer.

He shrugs indifferently, and I fist my hands with anger.

I’m starting to believe this man lied about his magic and instead has the ability to slide directly under my skin with just a look.

Words are proving to be a faulty method, so I change my approach and try to rile him up by violence.

Surely, he won’t let me draw blood without drawing some of mine in return.

Screaming, I run at his right side, but at the last second, I draw my right shoulder back, spinning so my back is to him, and jab my right elbow down into his side. I land the blow, but he wraps his arm around my neck, my exposed back to him.

He harshly drags my body back until my back is flush to his chest. I let out a loud breath, the force almost knocking me out cold. “Never leave yourself vulnerable to an opponent,” he whispers into my ear.

“Prick,” I say under my breath, making that infuriating but toe curling chuckle leave his damning lips. I take the opportunity to stomp my foot on his boot, making him grunt in return. He tightens his arm around my neck, restricting my movements but not cutting my air supply off.

“How will you ever get out of this mess?” he taunts from behind me, making me dig my nails into the palms of my hand out of frustration.

I swing my elbow towards his side again, but he catches it with his free hand and pins it down by my side, rendering it immobile. I huff in frustration, my temper a living, breathing thing at the moment.

“Think,” he says from behind me, but it’s not mocking. He’s pushing me, wanting me to be able to defend myself and make calculated moves.

I gather my wits and do the only thing my brain can think of to get out of this sticky situation, holding true to my promise of drawing blood: I sink my teeth into his flesh.

I draw blood from the arm strangling my neck.

He lets out a grunt and softens his grip enough for me to slip out of his hold, ripping my arm from his grasp.